United Kingdom · Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools
Teaching assistant
Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is and how people get here. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.
As a Teaching assistant, a good place to start is Using and Checking AI Tools in Daily Work, a free Future Fluency module at Level 3. You'd practise using everyday AI tools on real tasks from your own week, and checking what they produce before you use it.
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- UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job
Two short quizzes about you
1From this job to a course
The qualifications matched to this job
Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.
The units you would start with
Built for Teaching assistant
5 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.
- Support children and young people with behaviour, emotional and social development needs Level 3
- Provide literacy and numeracy support Level 3
- Support the use of ICT in the learning environment Level 3
- Support Child and Young Person Development Level 3
- Support children and young people during learning activities Level 3
Next, a free account. We build your Teaching assistant plan as you set up, starting with the free AI Fluency module. No card.
Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.
2What this role really is
Supporting the class teacher to enhance pupils’ learning.
- Clarify teaching and learning objectives and your supporting role
- Obtain and utilize relevant teaching resources
- Provide appropriate individual attention and assistance
- Ensure availability for pupil support
- Use praise and assistance to encourage task completion
- Handle disruptions according to school policy
- Monitor pupil responses and adapt activities as needed
- Respond to spontaneous learning opportunities
- Provide feedback on pupil participation and progress
- Offer information and encouragement for independent learning
- Motivate pupils to take responsibility and review their learning strategies
- Provide consistent support aligned with role responsibilities.
- Communicate openly and honestly with team members.
- Meet commitments in accordance with work priorities.
- Keep colleagues informed about relevant aspects of your work.
- Contribute ideas to enhance teamwork.
- Address and resolve relationship issues constructively.
- Seek guidance for unresolved issues.
3What you’ll use
What you’ll use
Skills this role draws on
Technical
- Developing strategies for support: Develop strategies to support and encourage pupils to move towards independent learning.
- Developing strategies for support: Use appropriately varied vocabulary to ensure pupils’ understanding.
- Developing strategies for support: Embed effective behaviour management strategies using discipline appropriately and fairly in line with the school’s policy.
- Developing strategies for support: Deliver interventions in accordance with training given
- Developing strategies for support: Foster and encourage positive, effective, nurturing and safe learning environments inspiring pupils to take pride in and learn from their individual achievements.
- Developing strategies for support: Recognise, adapt and respond to all pupils encompassing SEN/emotional vulnerabilities, for example, use Makaton, visual timetables.
- Communication and team work: Work closely with teachers to ensure own contribution aligns with the teaching.
- Communication and team work: Ensure regular communication with teachers to provide clarity and consistency of role within lessons.
- Communication and team work: Deliver/lead small group teaching within clearly defined/planned parameters using initiative, sensitivity and understanding.
- Communication and team work: Build appropriate relationships with colleagues, pupils, parents, adults and stakeholders.
- Communication and team work: Comply with policy and procedures for sharing confidential information and know when and where to seek advice.
- Communication and team work: Implement current statutory guidance including ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ Part 1, safeguarding policies, Prevent Strategy.
- Communication and team work: Undertake safeguarding training every 3 years.
- Communication and team work: Support pupils’ well-being whilst embedding the importance of online safety.
- Communication and team work: Working with teachers to accurately assess
- Communication and team work: Contribute to a range of assessment processes and use information effectively for example: written records.
- Communication and team work: Use specific feedback to help pupils make progress.
- Communication and team work: Apply good subject knowledge to support accurate assessment.
- Using technology: Use school computer systems, including specialist software eg: online registration, intervention programmes and management information systems.
- Using technology: Use relevant technology competently and effectively to improve learning.
- Using technology: Ensure pupils use technology safely.
- Using technology: Problem solving/ability to motivate pupils
- Using technology: Use a range of strategies including scaffolding and open questioning skills to enable pupils to access and engage in learning.
- Using technology: Recognise the difference between pastoral and academic issues and model good behaviour for learning.
Functional
- What is Required:: Understanding how pupils learn and develop
- What is Required:: Understand the need to provide feedback to support and facilitate an appropriate level of independence.
- What is Required:: Comprehend appropriate levels of learning resources to identify and help address weakness, consolidate strengths and develop individualised expectations.
- What is Required:: Recognise different stages of child development through school, eg: transition between key stages.
- Technology: Recognise the importance of using appropriate technology to support learning.
- Technology: Working with teachers to understand and support assessment for learning
- Technology: Understand the need to accurately observe, record and report on pupil’s participation, conceptual understanding and progress to improve practice and assessment for different groups of pupils.
- Technology: Understand the school’s assessment procedures for benchmarking against targets set by the class teacher.
- Technology: Be familiar with assessment materials.
- Curriculum: An appropriate knowledge of the curriculum and context you are working in.
- Keeping Children Safe in Education: Understand current statutory guidance including ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ Part 1, safeguarding policies, Prevent Strategy.
- Keeping Children Safe in Education: Understand the importance of sharing relevant information, in a timely manner with the designated Safeguarding lead. Understand the importance of first aid procedures, recording/reporting incidents and a broad knowledge of Health & Safety Policy.
Ways of working
- What is Required:: Building relationships/ embracing change
- What is Required:: Flexibility, trust, professional conduct, confidentiality and being respectful.
- What is Required:: Promote the school’s efforts to build positive behaviour for learning.
- What is Required:: Promote and exemplify positive behaviour and uphold the school ethos.
- What is Required:: Be enthusiastic and open to new ideas.
- Adding value to education: Praise; provide constructive and specific feedback and support pupils, helping them to achieve their maximum potential socially, emotionally and academically through peer marking and reflection.
- inclusion: Keep pupils at the centre of everything.
- inclusion: Promote community cohesion and cultural diversity encompassing a full understanding of the school’s ethos.
4The pathway
The pathway
Getting in, in the UK
Ways in
- Apprenticeship: Teaching assistant (Level 3) — Skills England standard ST0454
5Pay and demand
ONS's coding index maps “Teaching assistant” to more than one occupation, so there is no one median to quote. Rather than pick, here is each one it could be, with its own figure:
- Higher education teaching professionals £52,835 a year
- Higher level teaching assistants £25,434 a year
- Educational support assistants £21,448 a year
- Teaching assistants £21,239 a year
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, from the April 2025 survey, about six months old when published, as ASHE always is, under the Open Government Licence.
How you would learn this
One to one, on the work you already do
A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.
A lesson from Support children and young people with behaviour, emotional and social development needs, worked against Teaching assistant.
Applied to your work in Teaching assistant
This unit aims to provide learners with the knowledge and skills to support children and young people with behaviour, emotional and social development needs. Learners will understand the various influences impacting these areas and the specific special educational needs associated with them. They will also be able to effectively support behaviour management strategies and provide appropriate support to children and young people.
- 1 Remember
- 2 Understand
- 3 Apply
- 4 Analyse
- 5 Evaluate
- 6 Create
It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.
- Developing strategies for support: Develop strategies to support and encourage pupils to move towards independent learning.
- Developing strategies for support: Use appropriately varied vocabulary to ensure pupils’ understanding.
- Developing strategies for support: Embed effective behaviour management strategies using discipline appropriately and fairly in line with the school’s policy.
- Developing strategies for support: Deliver interventions in accordance with training given
- Developing strategies for support: Foster and encourage positive, effective, nurturing and safe learning environments inspiring pupils to take pride in and learn from their individual achievements.
- Developing strategies for support: Recognise, adapt and respond to all pupils encompassing SEN/emotional vulnerabilities, for example, use Makaton, visual timetables.
- Communication and team work: Work closely with teachers to ensure own contribution aligns with the teaching.
- Communication and team work: Ensure regular communication with teachers to provide clarity and consistency of role within lessons.
Free tools
Want a read on where you stand?
Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.
6Where to go from here
Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.
Other roles in Supporting Teaching and Learning in SchoolsStay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
AI for teachersThe wider profession this job sits in: the jobs in it, how people get in, and what it pays.
This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.